Rear Window

The set for Rear Window is amazing, as Hitchcock and his team basically built a model of an apartment building on the studio lot. In fact, Hitchcock even said that every apartment in the building, even the ones we don't see, was fully furnished. My question involves the apartments we do see. How do the stories that unfold in the apartments across from Jeffries' "rear window" relate to the relationship between Jeffries (Jimmy Stewart) and Lisa (Grace Kelly)? Think especially about Miss Torso, Miss Lonelyhearts, the Composer, the Newlyweds, and, of course, the Thorwalds. Consider, also, the different ways Jeffries and Lisa react to what goes on in those apartments. How does Hitchcock manage to define their relationship more clearly by playing it against the lives of Jeffries' fellow tenants?


Rear Window is a very interesting movie. It is also a very well put together movie with a great deal of subtle intricacies that could easily be overlooked. I know I overlooked them. It took a class discussion before I could fully appreciate the film. The neighbors that Jeffries spies on have a direct impact on the goings-on in his own apartment. It creates a specific parallel between the various neighbors and the relationship between Jeffries and Lisa. Jeffries is a borderline bitter self-proclaimed bachelor. He has no interest in settling down and getting married. In fact, he has very negative preconceived notions about the whole institution. Lisa is quite fond of Jeffries and does not hold onto the same negative associations about marriage. The rear window offers a glimpse into the neighbors lives, whether married or not, and they directly impact Lisa and Jeffries. Jeffries relates to the malicious, nagging relation of the Thorwalds. He assumes that all marriages come to the same end: misery, nagging, loss of freedom, and death (not necessarily physical, but emotional and spiritual.) The Newlyweds follow the same pattern. They are blissfully happy for about a night. However, we soon see the husband being nagged, gasping for air. By the end of the film, they are outright quarreling. Both the Newlyweds and the Thorwalds serve to support and strengthen Jeffries belief that marriage, even when to someone who loves him so much and seems so perfect as Lisa, is doomed from the start, destined for failure and misery. Miss Torso is someone who is obviously attractive and popular with the men. Jeffries makes a connection in his mind between Miss Torso and Lisa. He thinks there are very similar in regards to their lifestyle and control over men. He feels that he could never be good enough for Miss Torso and, in turn, he could never be good enough for Lisa. Lisa feels connected to Miss Torso as well. She realizes that they are similar – fighting off hordes of sexually charged men, charming and wooing in social situations, never intending on getting romantically involved with any of her suitors, holding out for the one person she loves, who just happens to be unlike what someone would typically picture a man who Miss Torso falls in love with would look like. She also feels connected to Miss Lonelyhearts. She sympathizes with her longing for someone to be with. Jeffries sympathizes with Miss Lonelyhearts as well. However, he can not extend the same sympathy to Lisa. The composer provides the theme song for the movie and the blossoming love story of Lisa and Jeffries. The music he plays across the courtyard flows into all of the apartments in the complex. It moves Lisa and Miss Lonelyhearts and even serves as the music for the movie. All of the characters lives are intertwined with Lisa and Jeffries’ lives even if they are not aware of it.